Have you been thinking of renovating the bathrooms in your home, but don’t know which upgrades are best? If so, you are in the right place.
As you probably know, upgrading a home’s bathrooms is a time-tested way for improving the property’s value. A mid-range bathroom upgrade will routinely return 72.7% of your investment. And for minor changes, you can expect to see a $1.71 increase in value for each $1 you spend according to Zillow.
In addition to boosting its sales price and making it easier to sell, a bathroom upgrade can significantly improve your enjoyment of a home. It is the upgrade that carries the highest joy score of all home renovation types.
But to get the most from a renovation, you need to know which upgrades are the best. Not all bathroom upgrades attract the same ROI. The key factor is the upgrade’s impact on the style and function of the space. A poorly done bathroom upgrade can deduct from a home’s appeal and depress its value, warns BighornRentals.com.
The Best Bathroom Upgrades for Improving a Home’s Value
When choosing the upgrades to carry out in a bathroom, there are many factors to consider. Upgrades should be an update to a bathroom’s style and expand its functionality in a notable way.
Yet, at the same time, they should not push the home’s value too far above that of neighboring homes. If a home’s value is too high relative to comparative properties, it will appear to be overpriced. This will make it harder to sell and you’ll be less likely to recoup your investment.
That being said, here are the top bathroom upgrades you should be considering:
1. A New Coat of Paint
This cheap upgrade is one of the most impactful ways to renovate a bathroom. Repainting the bathroom in modern colors will enliven it and make it more welcoming. When strategically used, colors help to create a more streamlined look. It’ll also make a small bathroom appear bigger.
Also, if there are signs of water damage and mildew, a new coat of paint can help to hide that. That is, of course, after the original problem is dealt with.
The best thing about repainting your bathroom is that you can do it yourself.
2. New Plumbing Fixtures
This upgrade delivers immediate value because it is highly visible and instantly registers on a bathroom’s aesthetics. Fixtures are one of the first things people see when they walk into a bathroom. Old faded fixtures can devalue a perfectly functional bathroom. However, new modern fixtures draw attention away from less attractive aspects of the bathroom.
Shower heads and faucets are relatively easy and cheap to replace, but the reward of changing them is almost unquantifiable.
3. Upgraded Vanity
This is one of the more expensive upgrades. When changing a bathroom’s vanity, you must also plan to update its sinks and faucets. This ensures that the upgrade delivers maximum impact. Upgrading the vanity area, and leaving out the countertops, sinks and faucets creates disharmony in a bathroom’s overall design.
Options that deliver the highest ROI include adding double sinks and granite countertops, with the latest faucet design.
4. Changing the Flooring
This is the upgrade with the most remarkable impact on a bathroom’s overall style and design. A bathroom’s floor is the backdrop against which another feature shines. It can highlight or destroy the overall appeal of other design elements.
Old flooring makes the bathroom feel drab and tired. New flooring creates a sense of space.
The cost of changing bathroom flooring varies according to the materials used and a bathroom’s size. Porcelain or ceramic tiles deliver the right effect without costing too much. In addition to tiles, a heated floor is a feature well worth considering.
5. Energy-Efficient Updates and Improved Lighting
Energy-efficient additions to a bathroom make a property more attractive to buyers because it reduces the energy consumption of the home.
This upgrade includes showers, sinks and toilets that use less water because they are optimized for low flow.
It also includes bathroom items that use the least amount of energy but deliver optimum performance. One example is improved lighting. Outdated light fixtures should be replaced with energy-efficient LED lighting that is smart and stylish.
6. Updated Shower and Tub
The shower and tub are central to the bathroom’s function. Any upgrade involving these features will naturally attract a high return on investment.
As a general rule, homes with at least one tub sell at a higher price. At the minimum, the home should have at least one large walk-in shower and a tub. Home buyers with small children view a tub as an indispensable feature of their ideal home. If possible, add glass doors to the walk-in shower and tub. This simple addition has a very high impact.
So, there you have it – 6 types of bathroom upgrades that will increase your home’s value!